How to Save a Life
by XDioxideX
Summary: A death in the team sets another member up as the murderer. Will they be charged with the crime, or be proven innocent? COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

This is a story I just pulled out of my butt. It's SUPER sad, so don't read if you don't like that stuff. Please review and tell me if I should continue. Also—what is it with me and using the cold weather and water to cause bad situations?

The case was an easy one. Simply go out and arrest the killer, who had left behind so much evidence it could hardly be called a case. It was more like a game. But someone always loses. And the loser of this game _wasn't_ going to be the murderer.

There was evidence all over the place. Fingerprints on the dusty countertop, a shred of the killer's clothing, a fleck of their blood, and plenty of DNA under the victim's fingernails. All of it was too easy.

The only hard part was finding the man. He moved about constantly in his yacht, which was basically his house. He would get a friend with a truck to pull the thing from lake to lake; from river to river. The murderer obviously thought he was invincible. Which he wasn't.

After running the tests and breaking the bad news to the victim's family, all they had to do was go to the lakes and rivers around town and find the yacht. It was also a very unique one. Being covered in the man's own graffiti "artwork" made it stick out like a sore thumb.

It was hardly a day before the team tracked down their man. He was in the middle of a completely frozen over and tiny lake.

Tony laughed when he saw the satellite image. "Really? He thinks that we won't find him? What an idiot!" He burst out laughing. The whole team was in a good mood. Even Gibbs had chuckled earlier that day, which was an extremely odd sight.

"Apparently so," Ziva said, smiling.

"It's like he's calling for us to arrest him! I can hear him now: 'Oh, Agent DiNozzo! Please arrest me! I want to go to prison!'"

McGee snickered as he packed up his things, and Gibbs cracked a smile. "Alright. Let's go."

The team all packed into the elevator, joking and laughing about how easy things were going to be. The man was in his fifties, overweight, out of shape, and had next to no weapons to defend him. They still had no idea how he had strangled the petty officer, but he had.

It seemed like only a few moments had passed before they were pulling up beside the lake. Each of them moved to one side of the lake before starting to close in on the ugly yacht.

The ice was steady enough. It supported them without making a creak, but they still stayed cautious as they neared the middle. Ice was always thinner there.

McGee had his gun trained on the boat as he quietly walked towards it. His breath billowed in clouds, but he didn't mind the cold. It was a good day, and that was that.

A gunshot suddenly rang out, and ice shards hit his leg. The agent saw Tony's gun pointing almost just to the left of his hip, which appeared to be where the bullet had hit the ice. But the older man was looking at something else.

_Crack!_

The world split beneath him.

_What's going on?!_

Terror gripped Tim's chest as he felt the ice heave under his feet and tip him into the water. He slid into the freezing depths with a cry for help. The water seemed black and thick around him, dragging at his clothes. It was so cold it felt like claws raking across his skin.

Above him, the light faded as the water pulled and sucked him down. He began to push with desperate strokes, fighting to reach the surface. His lungs screamed for air as he blinked, focusing on the direction the bubbles around him were floating. He followed their path with a surge of adrenaline, but it all faded when his hands met a solid wall.

_No! Not now!_

He could see light beyond the frozen water, and tried to haul himself toward it. This time his fingers dragged against the jagged and rough underside of the ice. His mouth fell open in a silent scream of agony, letting all the air out of his lungs. The numbness in his fingers was replaced by a deep, stinging pain.

He saw shadows moving above him, and faintly heard a familiar voice calling his name and telling him to hang on as footsteps thudded above him.

Then the water began to pull him down. Tim was too tired to fight it. As the noise and chaos above him faded, he felt the numbness that was in his fingers and toes spread through his body. He let it take him over and erase all the pain he had felt, even the ache in his lungs for air. He went completely still, allowing the water to cradle him.

_So quiet._

_ So calm._

Suddenly, the water began to stir and churn around him. Flecks of ice and bubbles floated around him as he saw the hazy form swimming near him.

_Tony_?

Had the older agent fallen in too?

_It's quiet here_.

He wanted to tell his friend that everything would be okay.

_Don't fight it_.

Out of nowhere, there were hands gripping his coat. DiNozzo had grabbed hold of him and was trying to pull him up. His green eyes were pleading with Tim to try and fight against the freezing water; to try and escape its clutches.

_I don't want to leave._

The agent grit his teeth and kicked that much harder when McGee didn't respond. He had to save him. _Had to_.

There was a rush of bubbles, and the hands released his coat. Tim watched as the senior field agent quickly swam up and almost completely disappeared through a bright spot in the ice.

_Don't leave me_.

He barely heard voices, but wasn't sure if it was real or not. McGee saw hands pull Tony out of the water, and everything went still.

Darkness swept over Tim and the sunlight vanished forever.


	2. Chapter 2

Here's chapter two. I can't believe how sad I'm making this story.

REVIEWS:

Tony had noticed something in the bushes beside the lake when they first arrived. He ignored it, telling himself that it was just the suspect's boat trailer. He was wrong.

The object moved as they approached the graffiti-covered yacht, and he turned in an instant. There was a man with the same pistol as him lying in the undergrowth hardly twenty feet away.

They fired at the same time, one bullet shattering the ice below McGee, the other hitting somewhere in the ground. Tony lowered his pistol as the man wriggled back and disappeared.

It all happened too fast. Tim yelled for help as the ice tipped underneath him, and then was gone.

"McGee!" He called.

Throwing caution to the wind, Tony ran to where McGee had fallen in. He tossed his gun to the side and pulled his coat off as he saw hands press and drag against the ice a few feet away.

The hands fell back, and he dove into the water. He had heard Gibbs and Ziva yelling at him to wait, but he ignored them.

The cold water hit him with such force it almost took the air out of his lungs. He swam toward Tim's fading form. It all seemed to be in slow motion as he caught the agent and grabbed hold of his coat. His friend was completely still, which showed how close to death he was. Tony looked at him, pleading with him to fight it.

He grit his teeth and kicked harder, struggling to pull him out. His lungs screamed for air, and the need became too great. He let out his breath and gave McGee one last look, mouthing the words "I'm sorry," and swam back to the surface.

He gasped for breath and saw Gibbs and Ziva right there next to the hole. His boss instantly had a hold of him and was hauling him out of the water.

"Tony! I told you not to go in there! What were you thinking?!"

DiNozzo was still trying to catch his breath, and started shivering violently. "Y-you want t-to just l-leave Tim without a-a second thought?!"

Ziva was still standing beside the hole, staring into the watery depths. She didn't move.

Gibbs stopped, looking at him with sad blue eyes. "I'm not going to lose two agents today, Tony."

DiNozzo was taken to the hospital and treated for hypothermia, then sent back to work. The team's world had been shattered into a million tiny pieces. Especially Tony's.

He and Gibbs were the only two left that night. It was almost three in the morning. His boss was in the bathroom or somewhere else working. He let out a heavy sigh and went to the elevator, pressing the button to go to the autopsy floor with a shaking hand.

There was one body in the room. Tony walked over and put his hand on the zipper. He paused, stuck between unzipping the bag and seeing what he had failed to prevent, or leaving it and continuing to be trapped in denial.

DiNozzo pulled the zipper down, revealing Tim's face. He stared at his old friend, unable to pull his eyes away. It felt like years before he zipped up the body bag and crumpled to the floor, sitting against the table and hugging his knees to his chest.

He squeezed his eyes shut and put his hands over his face, resting his elbows on his knees. It was his fault. He could have pulled McGee out of that lake. Could have saved him. But he hadn't.

A slight rustle told him that Gibbs had come in and sat down next to him without a sound. There was an arm slipped around his shoulders, then silence. The two men sat like that until Ducky and Palmer came in the next morning.

Tony was taken into custody at ten A.M. as a suspect. The bullet that was found in the ice had been proven to belong to him by Abby the day before. She had called in sick that morning as well as Ziva.

It was four in the afternoon when DiNozzo was taken to an interrogation room. Agent Fornell and Gibbs walked in a few minutes later. Fornell set his file down on the table and gazed at the man in front of him as the other man stood in the corner to watch. Tony looked exhausted, with red eyes and dark rings under them.

Fornell finally spoke up. "Tell me what happened."

"You know the truth," DiNozzo kept his eyes on the table. "I didn't do it."

"There was a bullet from _your_ Glock in the ice. _You_ were the closest to Agent McGee when it happened. _You_ dove in after him. We don't know if you tried to help or hurt him in that water."

"I didn't do it." Tony repeated.

"How can I trust you?" He leaned in closer to the younger man.

"You can't."

Fornell felt frustration start to rise in his stomach. "Then what's the point of this conversation?"

"To tell you that I didn't do it."

"You've been set up before, Agent DiNozzo. But this time is different. It isn't just a witness that's against you. It's _legitimate evidence_." He set a few pictures of the crime scene in front of him. Tony looked at them, but said nothing.

The older man brought his fist down on the table. "Why did you do it?!"

"I have the right to remain silent." DiNozzo leaned back and closed his eyes. "Therefore, I will."

Fornell glanced back at Gibbs, then nodded and walked out. The other man took his seat and looked at his senior agent. "Tell me what you saw."

"I saw McGee fall into the ice."

"Tony, tell me what happened. _Who_ fired that bullet?"

"Someone else. Not me."

Gibbs narrowed his eyes. Something wasn't fitting in. His gut was telling him that he needed to take Tony back to the crime scene and get him to reenact the whole thing.

_ Like that's going to happen. He's never going back there. _He thought, knowing how DiNozzo would beat himself up over things that he couldn't help. The agent hated the thought of going back to places where he had failed. If he was ever going back to that crime scene, it was going to take some serious work.


	3. Chapter 3

Thanks for all the support!

REVIEWS:

never-give-up-hope2: I almost made myself cry when I was writing this. Pretty sad story if you cry over it when YOU'RE writing! AND I WILL DO SO IN THIS CHAPTER.

DS2010: I'm fairly sure that his life sucks at the moment.

Abby had done next to nothing all day. She was numb. All she could do was think. The previous day had been one of the worst she had ever had.

McGee had died a sudden and tragic death. Tony had tried to save him, and almost lost his life to hypothermia as well. Then she had run some tests on the bullet found in the ice. Tony had caused McGee's death.

_Or had he?_

That got her mind going. Had there been another shooter that had gotten a hold of DiNozzo's bullets? What direction was the bullet in the ice pointing? Where had both agents been when the incident happened?

She stood up out of bed and grabbed a notepad and pen. Abby began to pace as she wrote down notes on what had happened, and what could have happened. After doing so for nearly ten minutes, she sat down again and stared at the messy writing, chewing on her pen cap.

_Is Tony innocent? _

Her notes showed just how little information she had on the case. Quickly pulling some proper clothes on, she got her stuff together and went up to headquarters. She wasn't going to just sit at home and play sick. That option was completely out of her mind now. Even if she was still upset and grieving over one of her best friends' death, she wasn't going to stand by and watch another friend be arrested and charged with a murder he didn't do.

Abby had been in her lab for an hour when Gibbs walked in. He hugged her and set a Caf-Pow on her desk. "Thought you were sick." He murmured.

"Not anymore. I was thinking about the…_accident_…earlier, and I figured something out. We need to go back to the crime scene and look at some other factors."

"I was thinking the same thing. Tony said there was someone else."

"Did you talk to him earlier?"

"Yeah. He's under arrest at the moment."

"Poor thing." Abby sighed. "I should have looked at the crime scene before I sent in that report." She looked at her feet.

"You were just doing your job." Gibbs kissed her head. "We can go take a look at the scene tomorrow. Now go home and get some sleep."

"But Gibbs! I'm not tired. I slept until noon, cried for two hours, then went back to sleep." Abs said. "Besides—going home reminds me of Tim."

"Alright. Tell me if you need anything." He gave her a squeeze, and then was gone. She started to go over what had happened, and looked at the bullet. The damage to it showed that it had been shot from near the ground. If it had been shot from Tony's height, it would have gone through the ice. Abby became almost certain that DiNozzo hadn't done it.

Ziva had stayed home because she had actually woken up sick. She knew how to handle death, especially from those who were close to her. But it still left an empty hole in her chest when she thought of McGee. They had gotten along well, even if he was scared of her at first. His death was only another scar on her heart. Only another reason to do her job as best she could.

She couldn't help but think of the other people who she fought for. Of her mother. Of her younger sister. Of Jenny. Of Kate. Now Tim was just another one on that list.

The Israeli sighed. She hadn't been able to keep anything down all day. The text she received from Gibbs about Tony being taken into custody only made her feel worse. She had no idea if her best friend had killed McGee or not. It had all happened too fast for her to see. All she knew was that DiNozzo had fired a shot, and that he had been the first one to try and save Tim.

_I wonder what Tony is doing right now._

Tony hadn't eaten a thing since yesterday morning, but he didn't feel hungry. His chest literally hurt every time he thought of McGee. It was difficult to get his thoughts in line, but he didn't know why. DiNozzo didn't know anything but self-hate and grief at the moment.

He was sitting on the small bed in his cell, a sandwich next to him. It hadn't been touched.

_How could this have happened?_

Tony knew that McGee could have been saved. If he had tried just a bit harder, given just a bit more, Tim would be there and he wouldn't be in this stupid cell. If Gibbs or Ziva had tried to help, then he would be picking on his friend and working on another case.

_But I'm not. Tim is dead. Drowned. And I'm the one blamed for it. _

Anger rose in Tony's throat, and he stood up quickly. He paced the room furiously, his motions becoming more and more frantic as his thoughts spiraled out of control. DiNozzo jumped slightly when he felt a hand on his shoulder. It surprised him more than it should have, and he turned quickly.

"I need you to go back to the scene," Gibbs said quietly. "To show me and Abs where the man you saw was."

"I don't want to go back. My best friend died there." Tony looked away.

"You have to, unless if you _want_ to go to prison."

"I'm not going there."

"McGee _died_ there. This isn't something you can brush off like some other case."

"If you had tried to help, then McGee wouldn't be dead!" DiNozzo whirled around, glaring at his boss. "You did nothing but watch! I was the one who tried to save him not once, but _twice_ yesterday! You have no right to try and make me go back there when you did nothing to help." He yelled, finally sitting down on the bed.

Gibbs paused, slightly shocked by the agent's outburst. He had nothing to say.

"Get out. I'm not going back, and I'm done talking to you." Tony's voice was shaking as he pointed at the door.

His boss walked out and stopped after the door was closed. It wasn't like DiNozzo to do something like that. Something had snapped in the agent's head.


	4. Chapter 4

REVIEWS:

never-give-up-hope2: He only gets worse from here…

Eni01: Thanks!

DS2010: Yep. I completely agree.

Ziva came back to work the next day. It was quiet as she and Gibbs started the morning off by checking for any updates on cold cases.

"Do you think Tony did it?" She finally asked.

"No."

"Are we going to go back and look for more evidence?"

"Can't do that if the only witness has practically locked himself up."

"What do you mean, Gibbs?"

Her boss never responded. He was already walking to the elevator. Ziva sighed and followed him.

When they got to Abby's lab, they found the forensics specialist curled up on the floor, sobbing. Ziva stopped and walked out, knowing that Gibbs would handle whatever was wrong.

Five minutes later, she heard Abby's chattering and went back into the lab. She was motioning at her screen quickly.

"So can we go back?" She begged.

"We have to if we're going to prove the other evidence wrong." Gibbs responded. "And we'll have to find where this guy was on our own. DiNozzo isn't going to come."

The room got quiet. The mention of the other agent seemed to make the memories of McGee's death all the more vivid in their memories.

"Alright. Get your stuff together and meet us at the car." Gibbs said, kissing her head and brushing past Ziva on his way out. She followed him to the elevator.

They were at the crime scene fifteen minutes later. The ice had been deemed safe again, so the three of them went out to where McGee had been. The extensive cracks in the ice made it slightly difficult for Abby to find the bullet's entry point, but she eventually found the hole.

"Look at the angle. Tony would have to be," she walked over to the edge of the lake and laid down on her stomach. "Right here. He would have had to flop down, fire the shot and then jump up and run to the crack."

"He said that he fired at a man laying on the ground." Gibbs said. "What side of McGee was DiNozzo on when this happened?" He looked at Ziva.

"Over there." She pointed about ten feet away in the opposite direction of Abby. Gibbs crouched down and looked at the bullet mark in the ice.

"The angle of the hole is in the wrong direction." He said, standing up straight again. "Abs, look for gunshot in the ground over there."

"Already on it, Gibbs." Abby was looking all along the shore. "I found something!"

The other two agents quickly walked over to look. Sure enough, there was a hole in the ground. Ziva put her gloves on and pulled a bullet out of it.

"Looks like Tony's." She said, handing it to Abby.

"Get pictures and look for signs of someone being here." Gibbs ordered. He was going to make up for not saving McGee.

The more he thought about it, the more he realized that DiNozzo had been right. He _had_ just stood by and watched. He _had_ done nothing to help. Gibbs knew his shortcomings, one of the worst being his ego.

Tony was released the next day. He went straight back to work, not even going home. The agent didn't speak or joke around like he used to, and it seemed like all he could do was glare around the room when he wasn't working.

"We are going to be getting a new agent," Ziva said. "His name is Tyler Spiron."

"I don't want a new agent." DiNozzo grumbled.

"Too bad." Gibbs muttered. Tony's bad mood was contagious, and all three of them had caught it.

"He can't have that desk."

"Who put you in charge?"

"Both of you! Shut up! What would McGee say if he were here?" Ziva snapped, stopping her work and looking between the two men.

"Spiron is not taking that desk." Tony retorted. "If he were still here, that desk wouldn't be empty!" He shot a hateful look at Gibbs. "And we wouldn't be arguing over it."

His boss narrowed his eyes and walked to the elevator. Tony was no longer Tony. He had become some kind of monster. One that he hoped wouldn't scare off the new kid.


	5. Chapter 5

I'm back from my extended weekend! Hope you guys like this chapter!

REVIEWS:

never-give-up-hope2: He's actually based off of one of my guy friends. (yesh. I am a girl with GUY friends. not BOY friends.) I've got some good stuff in planning for him. ;)

DS2010: It seems like Tony always sees the wrong in people more than anyone else. Anyways, I like to play on that ego of Gibbs'. It lends to a good argument scene. (I have to give you some author's insight crap lol)

The new agent arrived a week later. He had dark blonde hair and stood an inch taller than Tony, putting him at 6'3". He was also quite a bit younger than DiNozzo, being only twenty-nine.

Tyler seemed to be fairly easy to fool, but was truly an intelligent and quick-witted man. Having grown up as the second oldest out of four kids, he also knew how to debate and argue without any second thoughts.

DiNozzo took an instant liking to him. Even though he picked on the new agent more than he had ever bothered McGee, the two of them grew to be good friends. Spiron seemed to brighten Tony's moody days.

The older man would call him the teacher's pet because he managed to get on Gibbs' good side the first day he met him and gained his respect through hard work. DiNozzo still harbored some sour feelings towards his boss, but never showed it to anyone. He still felt like the man should have helped when McGee met his death.

Tony wasn't like he used to be, but Tyler didn't know that. He thought that the almost constant bad moods and neglected sleeping habits were normal, and that the senior field agent had always been like that. The new kid soon figured out that it wasn't the way he was before, but had enough sense not to ask what had happened.

A year passed, and DiNozzo began to go downhill as February approached. Tony would cast harsh looks in Gibbs' direction and would sometimes storm out after an argument with the ex marine.

Tyler would look at Ziva for help, but would only get a sad shake of her head as a response. His curiosity continued to build up until he found himself alone in the bullpen with Gibbs.

"What happened to make Tony so upset, Boss?" He asked.

Gibbs shook his head. "Someone died last year before you came to the team."

"How?"

"Drowned."

"I'm their replacement, aren't I?"

A silent nod was the only response he got. It was obvious that Gibbs and Tony had some unsettled business over what had happened, and Spiron knew that he needed to keep his nose out of it. He wasn't the team counselor.

It was an especially cold and snowy day when the team received a case about a drowned petty officer. They had fallen under the ice on a frozen lake and never escaped.

When the team arrived, Tony refused to get out of the car and go take pictures of the scene. Gibbs stayed behind while Ziva and Tyler went out onto the ice to look.

"What do you want?" DiNozzo grumbled, watching the other two agents walk away. "I don't want to go out there. Something bad is _going_ to happen."

"You have to. It's part of the job, Tony."

He paused slightly at the use of his first name. Gibbs was being completely serious. "You know what happened last year."

"That was last year. It's time to get over that and move on. Living in the past doesn't help."

"_I wouldn't be living in the past if you had helped!_" DiNozzo growled as he swiftly got out of the car and slammed the door. It drew Ziva and Tyler's attention, but neither one said anything. His outbursts were nothing out of the ordinary.

As the senior field agent stalked out onto the ice, he almost slipped and fell. Gibbs had been close behind him and caught him, only to be cursed at. DiNozzo wrenched his arm free from the ex marine's grip and shoved his hands in his pockets.

"Stupid old man. Why doesn't he just go die in a hole already?" He muttered, shooting a hateful glare over his shoulder as he walked away. Tony could feel the rest of the team staring at him.

"Today's worse than usual," Spiron murmured to Ziva. She nodded and looked away from the angry figure approaching them.

"What was that?" DiNozzo snapped, standing over Tyler.

"You're in a worse mood than normal." The younger man said calmly.

"My behavior is none of your business." Tony growled before going to where Ducky and Palmer were.

Gibbs watched the senior field agent, thinking.

_How am I going to make this up to him?_


	6. Chapter 6

TADAH SECOND CHAPTER OF THE DAY.

Nothing bad happened while they were on the ice, putting Tony in a slightly better mood. The haunted look in his eyes as they drove off told Gibbs that he had been terrified.

When they arrived back at headquarters, Vance was waiting for the ex marine. The two of them went up to his office and didn't come down for nearly fifteen minutes. When Gibbs returned, he had a file full of papers and records. He also had some fake ID's for Ziva and Tony.

"What's this for, Boss?" DiNozzo asked as he looked up at him after checking over the card in his hand.

"Undercover op." The older man said.

"Where at?" Ziva inquired.

"Here in D.C. Some naval officers could be involved with a local gang, and we have to go find out."

"When do we go?"

"Tomorrow. We'll be staying with them until we get what we need." Gibbs replied.

"What will I be doing?" Tyler asked.

"Staying here and monitoring their activity."

"Got it."

"And you, Gibbs?" Ziva asked, slightly raising an eyebrow.

"Watching you two."

"How?"

"I'll be there."

"But you do not have a fake identification."

"Don't need one."

She looked at Spiron, who just shrugged. Their boss wasn't going to say until last minute, most likely.

Almost a week later, Tony and Ziva had all the information and evidence they needed. Having kept in touch with home base and Gibbs by wearing throat mics, the two of them had successfully identified the officers under suspicion.

The day that they were to leave, they finally found out how their boss had been watching them. Their exit was supposed to be clean and quick, but that was thrown out the window when one of the gang members noticed Ziva's throat mic from underneath her scarf.

"What's this, Gwen?" He said, grabbing her shoulder and moving her scarf out of the way. "So you're a traitor, little miss?"

"No, Reid. Let go of me." She shrugged him off and adjusted the fabric around her neck. "I am not a traitor."

"Then why do you have a microphone on your neck?" He growled.

Tony walked up. "What's going on?"

"Gwen here has a comm. system." Reid murmured. "She's not working with us."

"Really?" DiNozzo raised an eyebrow. "Well, neither am I." He punched the man across the face, knocking him out. "Come on. We have to go."

As the two of them quickly slipped away, they split up to avoid too much attention. Ziva managed to get to the vehicle waiting for them, but Tony was caught by another gang member.

"Why'd you hit Reid, huh? He says that you're not with us." The man growled. He was a head taller than DiNozzo, and twice as heavy. "You've never been on our side, have you?" There was a menacing tone in his voice.

"That's none of your business." Tony could hear Gibbs and Tyler telling him to get out of there through his earpiece. He turned and took off running, shoving people out of the way and finally bursting into a shop. He ran up two flights of stairs and came out on the roof.

Other gang members had surrounded the building and were coming up the stairs to get him. He turned and looked at them, breathing heavily. "I could use some help here, Boss."

Gibbs heard the senior field agent and looked down the scope of his sniper rifle. He had spent the days moving from spot to spot, carefully watching the undercover agents. From his place on the roof of a nearby business, he could see everything.

"They're everywhere," Tony panted, pulling his pistol and aiming it at the men as they came out of the stairwell. "Any ideas?"

"What is going on?" Ziva chimed in. She sounded worried.

"Oh, y'know. I'm just stuck on—building with—after me." DiNozzo's voice began to cut out.

"They're—communications. –second." Tyler said. Static threatened to completely cover his voice.

After a moment of nothing but static, it all cleared up. "Alright. We're clear. But we have a problem. Almost the whole gang is around, in, or on top of that building. Boss, can you see any way out?"

"I do." Tony said. He was looking directly at Gibbs' location, even though the ex marine was completely hidden. The agent took off running towards the edge of the building. "_Do it_."

DONCHA' JUST LOVE CLIFFHANGERS?


	7. Chapter 7

BA DA BA BA I MADE ANOTHER CHAPTER

REVIEWS:

DS2010: I'm thinking this will be another cliffhanger… :)

**Gibbs' POV**

I could hear the others trying to find a way to get DiNozzo out of the situation he was in, but I knew there was no escape. The look on his face told me that he felt the same way.

His response to Spiron's question confirmed my thoughts as he took off running.

"_Do it_."

All the other voices in my earpiece faded as I focused on what was happening. Tony took a flying leap; his arms spread open to give an easy shot.

I took the shot. It rang out through the streets, causing many of the gang members to look around. Red mist sprayed out behind DiNozzo, and his body began to twist through the air. He disappeared into the crowd below.

_I just killed my best agent._

The world came rushing back, and I forced myself to get up and leave the building. Communications were dead silent as I ran downstairs. Knowing the gang's reputation, I had only a couple of minutes before something else went wrong.

When I reached the car, Ziva was in the passenger seat gazing out the window. She didn't bother looking at me as I started the thing up and took off down the street. Static suddenly filled Tony's end of the mic, and then quiet again.

"They got him. All his electronics were just shut off." Spiron said.

"He's dead, Tyler. They only got his body."

**Normal POV**

When Gibbs and Ziva returned, Tyler was sitting at his desk working. The other two sat down at their own desks and sighed. Their boss's phone went off, and he checked it before walking out.

"How did he die?" Spiron finally asked.

"Gibbs was on sniper duty. I guess it was a merciful death." She said. "I didn't see."

Abby didn't have her music blasting when Gibbs walked in. She was curled up underneath her desk, crying.

He sat down next to her and held her close. "Shh, shh, It's okay," he murmured.

"First McGee, and now Tony. Why?" Her voice shook as she spoke.

"I don't know. Life just gives and takes as it pleases."

"I want them back, Gibbs."

"I know. We all do." He kissed her head and sat with her like that until she finally wriggled away and got up.

"I-I need to work on the case," she mumbled as Gibbs stood, brushing himself off.

"Alright. Call if you need me." He patted her shoulder and walked to the elevator.

When the ex marine walked back to his desk, Spiron was gone. "Where'd he go?"

"Home." Ziva responded. "Another team has been sent out to arrest the suspects."

Gibbs nodded and sat down. "Go home, Ziva. You've done enough for the week."

"And you?" She looked over at him.

"You know where I'll be." He responded, stacking some out-of-place papers to the side.

"Okay. Good night, Gibbs." Ziva grabbed her purse and left.

Once she reached her house, she went straight to bed. It wasn't due to exhaustion, but more due to grief and fear.

_Would the whole team be dead in another few years?_

Two days passed after what had happened. Tyler called in sick the first day, and went home early the second day. All three of them were sitting in the bullpen on the third day when Gibbs received a phone call.

He didn't recognize the number, but answered it anyways. "Yeah, Gibbs."

"Uh, hey Boss. I'm kind of in a tight place and need you to come pick me up."

The ex marine was already halfway to the elevator. "Be right there. Where are you?"

"Don't know, exactly. I woke up in the middle of the woods with some gang members who were asleep on the job. Killed them and took their stuff, but I think the rest of the gang is getting ticked. Their phones have been going off nonstop."

Gibbs punched the elevator button impatiently. "Got it. You near any highways?"

"I think I can hear cars."

"Tell me when you know."

A few minutes later he was driving towards Fairfax. He pulled over when he reached a certain place and looked into the woods, his eyes searching for movement. The caller had figured out where he was.

There was a rustle and shift in the undergrowth, and Tony burst out of the brush. Two men ran out after him as he sat down in the passenger seat, but were stopped when Gibbs shot both of them.

After calling headquarters and reporting what had happened, he screeched off of the shoulder and back onto the highway, not looking back. "So, you gonna tell me how you survived that fall?"

DiNozzo held up his left arm. He had torn part of the sleeve off of his shirt and used it as a makeshift bandage. It covered most of his forearm and had a dark crimson stain over a large area of it. His hand was limp.

"I fell on some people."

"Then you're lucky I missed and hit your arm."

Hardly a minute later, a pair of SUVs began to follow them.

"It looks like we've got company." Tony reported, looking in the side mirror.

"Great. Call Spiron and tell him what's up." Gibbs handed him his phone.

"Boss? What's going on?" Was the younger agent's first response when he answered the phone.

"I'm not quite your boss yet. Just have to wait for someone to leave." Tony grinned slightly, but made a high pitched squeak when Gibbs slapped the back of his head. "Anyways, we're kind of being followed slash chased by the gang."

"Tony?"

"Hurry up, Probie! We don't have time for this!"

"Got it. I'm alerting the cops now."

There was a gunshot, and the back window shattered. DiNozzo ducked down as Gibbs lowered his head.

"What was that?" Spiron exclaimed.

"I swear, you're like a little kid sometimes. What do you think it was?" Tony snapped.

"Whatever. The police are on the way."

"They'd better hurry up." There was a click as he shut the phone. "Cops are on their way."

"Alright." Another gunshot rang out, this time taking out one of their tires and causing the car to veer off of the road.


	8. Chapter 8

ANOTHER LONG WEEKEND, YOU ASK? Pretty much. I haven't gotten ANYTHING done, because I had a winter retreat. IF YOU LIVE IN VIRGINIA OR NORTH CAROLINA AND SAW, LIKE, SEVEN ABBOT TRAILWAYS BUSES, THAT WAS MAH GROUP. So yeah.

REVIEWS:

DS2010: He does, doesn't he? But we don't know what happens now…

Moonlight1234: Did you even FINISH THE CHAPTER? You were also not paying any attention from McGee's death to Tony's jump, apparently. If you would read it better, you would see that Tony doesn't have his act together, doesn't like himself and those around him, and could care less. He was up against a _bunch_ of big, scary, ticked off dudes that had bigger guns than him. Eight bullets against more than twenty people. Basically IMPOSSIBLE for anyone but Chuck Norris and Gibbs. Sorry about the mean response, but I'm not a morning person and I woke up to your review.

The next thing Tony knew, he was in a hospital bed. His hand was still completely numb, and so was most of his forearm. A cast prevented him from seeing the damage.

A nurse walked in and smiled. "Good morning, Agent DiNozzo. How are you feeling?" She held out a glass of water.

"Better than I was. What happened?" He took the water and nodded his thanks.

"We ran into the ditch after one of the gang members shot out one of the tires." Gibbs said. He was sitting next to the bed with a few small cuts and scrapes here and there.

"I don't remember a thing," Tony leaned his head back and sighed.

"No need to worry, my dear boy. It is nothing out of the ordinary not to remember the trauma." Ducky said as he walked in. Abby, Palmer, Ziva, and Tyler followed in soon after.

"You're okay!" Abs exclaimed, rushing over and hugging him tightly.

"I'm fine," DiNozzo let out a breath as the forensic specialist released him.

"This reminds me of a time when…" Everyone but Jimmy ignored Duck after those words.

"When do you get out?" Ziva asked, sitting down in one of the chairs. Abby sat down on the foot of the bed and started listening to Doctor Mallard's story.

"Dunno. Probably in a couple days," Tony responded. He noticed that Spiron was unusually quiet and pale looking. The senior field agent made a mental note to talk to the younger man later.

Two days later, Tony was released from the hospital. He went straight back to work, even though he wasn't allowed to do any field operations.

DiNozzo and Spiron were the only ones in the bullpen one day when Gibbs and Ziva were out interviewing someone. He saw that Tyler was unusually focused on what he was doing, and the younger man didn't notice when Tony got up and walked around the back of the cubicle wall.

"What are you doing?" DiNozzo asked, looking over the back of the cubicle.

Spiron flinched slightly and minimized the page he had on the screen and turned around. "N-nothing. Just some case work."

"Then show me, if it's _just some case work_."

"Why do you want to see?"

"Because you were too focused on what you were doing. You're not normally like that."

"You snuck up on me! I swear. You're like a miniature Gibbs sometimes."

"I came over here like I normally would. You just didn't notice. Now show me what you're working on." Tony growled.

"Fine," Tyler muttered, turning and opening the page again. It was a case from almost ten years ago in Lynchburg, Virginia. "Happy?"

"We never did this case, Spiron. It has nothing to do with NCIS."

"I know that."

"So why do you have it pulled up?"

"None of your business. I've already gone over all the cases I've been assigned today, so I'm going to work on this one."

"It is my business."

"Why are you so interested in this?"

DiNozzo paused, reading the summary. "That's where you went to college and grew up, isn't it?" His gaze flicked to Spiron. "It had something to do with you or someone around you."

"It did. It also had _absolutely nothing_ to do with you." Tyler snapped, closing the window again. "Let me work on my own stuff." He logged off of his computer and shut it down before swiftly walking out.

"Too much like you used to be, DiNozzo." Gibbs said. He had been standing beside one of the windows at the head of the bullpen the whole time. Ziva was sitting at her desk.

"I noticed." Tony walked over and stood next to the older man.

"Let him figure it out himself."

"Got it, Boss."


	9. Chapter 9

REVIEWS:

Guest: YESH I TRY TO DO THAT! Cliffhangers always make people want more.

DS2010: Yesh. Exactly. I was going for that! Be expecting a lot on Tyler's past in this chapter.

A month later Tony's arm was fully healed, and he was back to normal activities. Tyler had continued to work on the old case in his free time, but had gotten almost nowhere.

It was a dreary Monday morning when he found something.

"Boss? Can I go to Lynchburg to do something?" Spiron asked. He looked at Gibbs hopefully.

"Depends. What is this trip for?" The ex marine glanced at the younger man with suspicion in his eyes.

"Uh—family matters."

"You think I believe that?"

"No," Tyler looked down.

"It's about that case, isn't it?" Tony butted in.

"Yes," Spiron ran a hand through his hair.

"If you would show us what it's about, then maybe we could help." The senior field agent shrugged. "But, of course, it has _absolutely nothing_ to do with me, so I guess I can't be involved." He narrowed his eyes.

"Fine. I'll show you the case." Tyler clicked a few buttons on his keyboard, and a case report along with a few photos appeared on the plasma screen.

"Talk about a cold case," Tony stated. "They only got as far as her kidnapping."

"How was this connected to you?" Gibbs asked, looking at Spiron.

"The kidnapped college student—Emily Baker—was my best friend. I had been talking with her just before she was taken."

"Rough," Ziva said. "And the man who took her..?"

"Andrew Bieliki. He fell off of the map after this happened." He pointed at one of the pictures. It showed a man with bright blue eyes, a tan complexion, and dark brown hair.

"Any harsh feelings between you two?" Gibbs inquired.

"We had kind of competed for her friendship since eighth grade." Tyler sighed.

"Talk about rivalry," DiNozzo said. He glanced at his boss. "Should we tell Abby to run some facial recognition searches?"

"Go ahead." Gibbs looked back at the files on his desk.

Two days later, the team was driving to Lynchburg. They had found where Bieliki had disappeared to, which was in plain sight. He worked at the Dunkin' Donuts on Liberty's campus with the name Steve Yates.

"How are we going to do this, Boss?" Tony asked.

"Ask Spiron. He knows the guy, and he knows the campus." Gibbs responded.

"He can't see me. That's the big thing." Tyler said. "Andrew was a smart guy. He'd know something was up if I was around."

"Any way we could get onto campus without too much notice?"

"C-faw."

"Explain, Probie." DiNozzo said.

"College for a Weekend." Spiron looked away from his window. "We can get in easy this weekend. There will be so many unfamiliar people around campus that we'll be practically invisible."

"Good," Gibbs said. He pulled onto an exit and had to come to a stop at some traffic. "This traffic normal?"

"Last time I visited they were working on repairing the bridge on Candler's." Tyler shrugged. "The construction crews here take forever, and it's a really busy street."

"Enough Lynchburg-speak! Seriously," Tony turned to look out his window. "Is this Candler's Mountain, or what?"

"Yes. Candler's Mountain Road. There's a Wingate hotel that we can stay at, but we have to get through this traffic first."

"This is going to be a while, I assume?" Ziva asked, glancing over at him.

"Obviously," DiNozzo muttered. "There's no way off of this road other than to go straight." He stretched and let out a yawn. "Wake me up when we get to the hotel."

Thirty minutes later, they were going up a steep hill. Tyler had navigated them through the traffic and managed to get them to where they were. The Wingate hotel was coming up on the right, and they had already driven past a large group of runners that yelled and waved at them.

"Long distance track. Probably LCA's team." Tyler said.

"LCA?" Ziva asked.

"Liberty Christian Academy. It's the private school owned by Liberty. I went there from fifth grade until I graduated."

"Wake up, DiNozzo." Gibbs slapped Tony on the back of the head.

"What?" The senior field agent jerked awake.

"We're here."

"Oh. Got it, Boss." He stretched and let out a huge yawn.

After two days of tracking and following Bieliki around campus, the team made their move. Tyler stayed around the corner of the Dunkin' Donuts building while Tony and Ziva stood around the edges of the crowd. Gibbs went up to the counter to buy some coffee.

The suspect was the one to serve him. "How can I help you, sir?"

"You can help me plenty, _Andrew_." Gibbs said quietly.

Bieliki paused. "Andrew? Sir, my name is Steven. Now what can I get you?"

"Sure. And I'm guessing you didn't play baseball and basketball all through middle and high school?"

"I didn't play any sports in school. I'm going to have to ask you to leave, if this is all you wanted."

"I'm Special Agent Gibbs. NCIS." The ex marine held up his badge.

Andrew stared at it for a moment, then leaned over the counter and looked around. His sharp blue eyes instantly took notice of DiNozzo and Ziva.

"What is this about?" He hissed.

"Emily Baker."

Bieliki shook his head. "I did nothing." With that, he turned and ran out the back door of the shop.


	10. Chapter 10

REVIEWS:

DS2010: YAY TYLER! But is there something else he needs to come clean about..?

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"Have I ever said how much I hate it when they run?" Tony called to Ziva as they took off down the street. Gibbs was running to the car, and Tyler was almost right on top of the suspect.

"Yes, Tony, you have said that." Ziva responded as she came up beside DiNozzo. "I do not think anyone enjoys it."

There was a squeal of tires, and Gibbs shot past in the Charger. The other two agents were running down the sidewalk in the wake of Spiron and Bieliki, who had left a lot of the people looking around bewilderedly.

"Excuse me—sorry!" Tony said over his shoulder after shoving a woman out of the way.

"We do not have time for this! Why didn't Gibbs just pick us up in the car?" Ziva complained.

"Because he wants us to get a workout! I'm sure that Probie is having the time of his life."

The suspect had made it halfway up a hill, Tyler hot on his heels the whole time. Tony and Ziva were still at the bottom of the hill, breathing hard. Gibbs had managed to block a street up ahead with their car in hopes of being able to intercept Andrew.

DiNozzo pulled ahead and powered up the hill as Bieliki got closer and closer to the car. Instead of going around it, he jumped onto the hood and pushed off with a flying leap. Tyler could hear Gibbs curse as he followed suit, launching himself off and after the suspect.

Tony stopped at the top of the hill and leaned against the car, panting. "How long can this guy go?" He shook himself out and took off running again as Ziva finished climbing the hill. She quickly sat down in the car and buckled her seatbelt as Gibbs floored the gas.

Bieliki raced towards the dorm construction and tried to clamber over the chain link fence, but Tyler grabbed his foot and hauled him down.

"You're under arrest," he panted.

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"So, Andrew. Why did you run if you didn't do anything?"

"I felt threatened."

Tony and the suspect were sitting across from each other in an interrogation room. They were in the Lynchburg PD building.

"Who said we were going to hurt you?"

"No one."

"Exactly. You had no reason to run, unless if you knew that we were onto you about something."

"I didn't know anything."

"I saw how you reacted when my boss talked to you. You knew what he was talking about. Especially that girl he mentioned."

"I heard about what happened years back. She was my friend, nothing more."

"You sure about that? Are you sure that your relationship wasn't one between friends, but possibly between a murderer and his victim?"

Bieliki shook his head. "I don't know who killed her. She had such a wide circle of friends that it could have been anyone."

"Almost all of them have moved somewhere else, or were not in the area when she disappeared."

"_Almost_, Agent DiNozzo."

"And the few that were in town have been proven innocent."

"I didn't do anything."

"What were you doing when she disappeared?"

Andrew paused. "I was watching TV."

"Wrong. TV records show that you were not watching TV at that time."

"I was watching it on the internet."

"Wrong again. We went through all of those files, too. You were not online. Cell phone tracking also says otherwise. You weren't even home."

"I never said I was at home."

"You implied that by saying you were watching the television. _If_ the computers are wrong, then where were you sitting, and what were you watching?"

"I was sitting at my computer desk, and I was watching _American Ninja Warrior_."

"What did you do when you heard that she had disappeared?"

"I went straight to the crime scene."

"Police reports say that you never showed up." Tony could see the look that momentarily flashed in the suspect's eyes. He knew something that he wasn't telling.

"I was there! The police interviewed me and everything."

"Liar. I can see it in your eyes. Tell me what really happened."

"That _is_ what happened." DiNozzo saw right through the fake tone in his voice.

"Sure. We will be searching your home tomorrow, so you'd better say what's on your chest."

"There's nothing on my chest. I'm clean, I tell you."

"I guess we'll know that tomorrow, won't we?" Tony picked up the file he had brought in and walked out. Tyler and Gibbs met him in the hall.

"He knows something that he won't tell, Boss."

"I noticed."

"Can we go back to the hotel now? It's nearly ten." Spiron complained.

"Go drink some coffee or something, Probie. We're not here to listen to your complaints."

"Alright." Tyler turned and walked off. Judging by his posture as he left, DiNozzo's words had stung him.

"Leave the kid alone. He can't help what happened last year."

Tony paused slightly. "You're right. But _you_ could have." He narrowed his eyes and stalked off.

Gibbs watched him go, finally letting out a sigh as he turned the corner.

Would Tony ever forgive him for what had happened?


	11. Chapter 11

BADABABA!

REVIEWS:

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Inspiring song: "Dance With the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin.

_Here I stand, helpless and left for dead._

_Close your eyes, so many days go by._

_Easy to find what's wrong, harder to find what's right._

_I believe in you, I can show you that I can see right through_

_all your empty lies_

_I won't stay long, in this world so wrong._

_Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight._

_Don't you dare look at him in the eye, as we dance with the_

_devil tonight._

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An hour later, the team went to their hotel for the night. Tony and Tyler went to their shared room while Gibbs and Ziva went to their separate rooms.

DiNozzo had gotten comfortable in his own bed and was about to doze off when Spiron spoke up.

"What's with you?"

Tony paused. "What do you want?"

"I want to know why you're so rude. From what Ziva tells me from time to time, you weren't always like this."

"It's none of your business, Probie."

"It is my business. You bully me."

"Get over it. This isn't grade school anymore."

Tyler rolled his eyes. "I've got a feeling that you know bullying more than you let on. I just want to know what happened last year to make you so mad at the world, that's all."

"I've got a feeling you know what it's like to lose a loved one more than you let on." Tony snapped. "How about we act like teenage girls and trade secrets, huh?" he mocked.

"I know loss more than I'd like to." Spiron lay down on his bed and turned his back to DiNozzo's. "So do you."

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It was three in the morning when Tony jerked awake. A sheen of cold sweat covered his brow, and his heart was racing.

Another nightmare. Nothing out of the ordinary.

But it was out of the ordinary. His brain hadn't replayed McGee's death like it normally did. It seemed like Tim's ghost was speaking to him.

He hadn't realized how deep in thought he was until Tyler snapped his fingers in front of his face.

"Snap out of it, Tony." The younger man was saying.

"Leave me alone." DiNozzo flopped back down and turned away from Spiron.

"You've been talking in your sleep."

"So?"

"Who was McGee?"

"No one of your concern, alright? It was just a nightmare." Tony said. He was becoming more agitated by the minute.

"Fine. I'll leave you alone." Tyler leaned against his pillows as the older man went back to sleep.

Once DiNozzo had rolled onto his back and was snoring quietly, Spiron pulled out his laptop and searched the NCIS database for "McGee."

"Timothy McGee. Let's see what you have to do with Grumpy over there," he mumbled to himself. He clicked the name and watched as an extensive file opened up.

The two words "computer specialist" popped out to him.

_I'm his replacement?_

Further reading revealed what had happened when Tim died.

_Poor Tony. Does he still blame himself?_

A hand came out of nowhere and swiftly closed his laptop. DiNozzo had silently gotten out of bed and was standing right next to the younger man.

"I told you to stay out of this," he growled.

"Curiosity killed the cat," Tyler responded. He put his computer to the side.

"More like 'curiosity killed the agent,'"

"Look, I'm sorry for snooping through all of that."

"Would you like it if I snooped for what you lost?"

"No,"

"Then why did you go through that stuff?"

"Like I said-"

"You knew not to do it."

"I know."

"If it happens again, then you're dead." Tony said through grit teeth. He went over and angrily got back in bed, his back turned and rigid.

Tyler sighed inwardly and put his laptop away. He felt guilty. He had betrayed his friend's trust at the absolute worst time, and the older man would probably hold it against him for a long time.

Spiron had his own secrets to keep, but he knew DiNozzo was going to find out sometime soon.

_What have I done?_


	12. Chapter 12

REVIEWS:

Eni01: It isn't about McGee, but it is about losing people. ;)

DS2010: I don't think Tony is happy with anyone right now lol.

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Spiron got next to no sleep the rest of the night. He must have dozed, because he blinked and opened his eyes on a neighborhood street. He was walking with a friend. Was that Andre, or Fred? They were next to him, but seemed to always be just out of sight when he tried to look.

_Is this my street? _

Tyler paused, and the friend with him stopped as well. The agent knew exactly where he was, and exactly what was going to happen. There was a strange tug at his feet, and then he was walking down the street again. Straight towards his house.

_I'm going to see my family. They're all waiting for me. I'm just out of the Air Force. My parents, my siblings, and all of my nieces and nephews._

It became clear that something was wrong as they walked up the driveway to get into the house. No one was moving inside, from what he could see. Spiron glanced at the man next to him. Or was it a woman?

_Emily._

The two of them walked up to the front porch and stepped into the house.

All Tyler saw was blood. Blood everywhere.

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Spiron jerked upright, muffling a cry with his pillow. The first beginnings of light were coming through the window, and he could hear Ziva moving about in the room next to his and DiNozzo's.

He ran a hand through his hair and set his pillow to the side. Mental images of that day were still flashing before his eyes. Tony was still fast asleep. Tyler stood up and gave a huge stretch before grabbing some fresh clothes out of his suitcase and shuffling into the bathroom to get ready for the day.

When DiNozzo woke up, there was no one else in the room. It was six fifteen, which gave him plenty of time to get ready. Spiron must have already gotten dressed and gone down to breakfast.

_Good. I don't want him around._

Tony pulled himself together and was adjusting his tie as Tyler walked in. He had two cups of coffee, one of which he handed to the older man.

DiNozzo wasn't big on eating breakfast, so he went out into the hallway to wait for Gibbs and Ziva. Spiron stayed in the room and prepared his stuff for the day.

The other two agents stepped off of the elevator a few minutes later and approached Tony. They were quietly talking about the case. Ziva cocked her head to the side when the two of them stopped walking.

"You look angry, Tony." She simply stated.

"I am angry."

"Why?"

"Ask Probie. He knows exactly why." DiNozzo turned and walked into his and Tyler's room to pick up his bag. Spiron slipped out while the older man was still inside.

"What did you do last night to make Tony so mad?" Ziva asked.

"I got curious and looked someone up. He had mentioned them while he was talking in his sleep." Tyler shrugged.

"McGee?" She lowered her voice and cast a glance towards the open door. DiNozzo was watching them with narrowed eyes.

"Yeah."

"Just like DiNozzo did. Snooped through stuff he shouldn't have." Gibbs muttered. He walked into Tony's room and shut the door behind him.

"Tony took it especially hard. I'm sure you've noticed how much he blames Gibbs."

"Why? The file said nothing about his death, other than the fact that he drowned."

"Tony tried to dive in and save Tim, but couldn't quite manage. He thinks that McGee would be alive if Gibbs had helped."

"Explains his hate for icy—" Tyler stopped as he heard DiNozzo yelling inside the hotel room. Their boss responded, voice raised as well.

"Wonderful. Now they're going at it." Spiron sighed and looked at his feet.

"You aren't telling everything, are you?" Ziva looked at him sympathetically. "You can relate to Tony, can't you?"

"I do,"

"Would you care to explain?"

"No." Tyler shook his head.

Ziva paused for a moment before giving a curt nod. "We should go to the car. Gibbs and Tony will come out when they are ready."

"M'kay." The two of them walked to the elevator.

DiNozzo felt an arm around his shoulders. He had sat down against the wall and covered his face with his hands. The agent was shaking with grief.

Gibbs sat in silence with him just like they had the year before in the autopsy room. The younger man felt like the worst person in the world.

"It's fine, Tony." Gibbs murmured.

"How can you say that when I blamed you?"

"Because I blamed the world when Shannon and Kelly died." The older man's voice was quiet and soothing.

DiNozzo let out a breath as his shaking subsided. "I don't even see why you care anymore."

"Come on, Tony. Quit thinking like that. We both know why I still care." Gibbs murmured.

"Got it, Boss." Tony stood up and straightened his clothes. The eternal mask he wore was back in place. That cocky, arrogant glint in his eyes was accompanied with a firm set in his jaw and a straight posture. It wasn't quite the old DiNozzo, but it was probably as close as he was going to get to it.

Gibbs followed him out of the hotel room and stood in silence as they rode downstairs in the elevator. His only worry was how Tony was going to treat Spiron for going through McGee's file when he knew that he wasn't supposed to.


	13. Chapter 13

Sorry this took so long! I had a busy weekend. But I'm on spring break now, so I should be able to fire these off one after another.

REVIEWS:

DS2010: Yup. WAIT I thought curiosity always killed the cat! MY LIFE IS A LIE.

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Gibbs' suspicions were proven to be correct. Tony ignored Tyler the whole day, only saying something to the younger man if it was an order. The senior field agent even went so far as to speak like Spiron wasn't around.

Tyler kept to himself that day, taking the abuse like it was nothing. What seemed to be the reason for his quiet attitude was guilt for invading on something he shouldn't have.

"How can you just stand by and listen as Tony insults you?" Ziva hissed at him as they went through Bieliki's house. DiNozzo and Gibbs were back at the police building interrogating the suspect further.

"I'm used to being insulted and bullied. I was considered a goody-two-shoe at school." Tyler shrugged. "A guy named Austin would always bother me, and Andrew was constantly humiliating me."

"Ah," Ziva paused. "Did you not mention an older brother at some point? That he would throw batteries at you when he was done with them?"

"That's different," he murmured as he opened a closet door and peered inside. "It's a brother thing."

"Why have you not gone to see your family? We have had bits of free time here and there."

Spiron stopped and looked at the floor. "It's complicated."

"I get it." Ziva patted his shoulder and walked into the kitchen. She opened all of the cabinets and finally the oven.

What she saw inside of the oven was a surprise. "Tyler! Come and look at this!" Spiron hurried over and looked into the dark space. "He has been keeping a laptop here."

"Huh. I need to go back to base and go through this. It might have some important leads."

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Gibbs stood up and walked over to stand behind the suspect, leaning on the table with one hand. He turned a picture around so that Andrew could see it clearly.

"You know where this is?" The sniper murmured. The paper showed an image of a house.

"Sure. Been there before. One of my friends threw a birthday party there when he turned eighteen." Bieliki was calm.

"What was that friend's name?"

"Austin."

"Last name?"

"Warner. Why?"

"You went to this address nearly eighty times the year that Emily Baker disappeared."

"So? We were good friends."

"More than good friends. The two of you both competed with Tyler Spiron for her friendship."

"Really? Is Spry the reason this case is coming back? Because the wuss couldn't get over his lost love?" Andrew rolled his eyes. "I always knew he was too soft."

"I'm not saying who brought it up. It could have been one of Emily's family members, or possibly one of Tyler's family members." Gibbs walked over and sat on his side of the table again.

Bieliki let out a small chuckle. "Sounds like a Spry type of thing to do. Tattle, then get someone to cover for him. Why can't you tell me who it is? I can't do anything to hurt them."

"It was one of my agents. That's all you need to know." Gibbs narrowed his eyes. "What did you really do on the night of Emily's disappearance?"

"Told you yesterday. I was watching TV on the internet, and I went to the scene as soon as I found out."

"We proved that wrong."

"Then check again with someone better at their job." Andrew growled.

"Getting defensive over that?" The ex marine leaned forward. "I know you're hiding something, Bieliki. And I'm going to get it out of you."

"And you're hiding something as well. Such as the fact that Spry brought this case back up. I bet he couldn't have done that if he wasn't on your team, could he? And I bet that he's your computer geek who screwed up the search through my documents." The suspect laughed. "I thought that federal agencies went through their agents' files more thoroughly. Or do you just go off of what they tell you? Because Spry has a lot to hide as well."

Gibbs shrugged. "I guess you'll just have to wait here and add another charge onto your long enough list while we go and find that you took Emily."

"Or, you could look into his files and see what happened after he got back from the air force. Sound like a plan?"

"I don't take orders from you." The sniper growled before getting up and leaving. Tony met him in the hallway.

"Ziva and Tyler found a laptop hidden in Bieliki's oven. They're bringing it back now."

"Good. I want you to go and look through our suspect's files again."

"On it, Boss." DiNozzo turned to leave.

Gibbs placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder. "Show some respect for Spiron, while you're at it. He's got his own back story, and it probably doesn't go well with coming back here _or_ going after Andrew."

Tony paused for a moment, thinking. "Got it. Will do." He shrugged the older man's hand off and walked away.


	14. Chapter 14

FRIDAY. THE LAST REAL DAY OF SPRING BREAK. NOOOOOOOOO!

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As Tony sat down at his temporary desk, Tyler and Ziva walked in. They nodded in greeting and went to their own cubicles.

"Did you find anything else?" DiNozzo looked at Spiron.

"Nope. Just the laptop. I'm sure it has something good in it, though. I'm going to send the information to Abby."

"Sounds good, Probie." Tony's gaze flicked to his computer screen.

Tyler paused for a moment before glancing at Ziva and raising a confused eyebrow. The Italian had paid no attention to him the whole day, but now he was acting nicer than normal.

_Whatever. I'm sure it's just to lure me into another one of his lies. _

Spiron pulled the laptop out of his backpack and put on some gloves before removing it from the evidence bag. He opened it up and hacked into the hard drive; deep in thought.

A few minutes later, Tyler had all of the information on the computer downloaded onto a flash drive. The agent converted the files to his own computer and sent them to Abby before putting the laptop back into its evidence bag and pulling off his gloves.

"We're going to have a few hours before Abs is done with that stuff," he said as Gibbs walked in.

"Good," the ex marine said.

Spiron cocked his head to the side for a moment. He had no idea why his boss and DiNozzo were being so kind. He straightened his clothes and nodded slightly.

"Can I go get something to eat?" The agent asked.

"How about we all go and eat?" Ziva asked, looking at Gibbs.

"Sounds good to me," Tony said. "We have some free time until Abs calls."

They were all looking at their boss expectantly. "Alright. Take your bags, though." Gibbs pulled his coat on. "We're probably going to need them later."

Tony grinned at Ziva and Tyler as the three of them picked up their stuff. "Where do we eat?"

"I was thinking Subway or something like that," Spiron said.

"How about Chick-Fil-A?" Ziva asked.

"Dunno. I'm fine with either." Gibbs shrugged.

"Why don't we get something nicer than fast food, like Applebee's or Cici's?" Tony hefted his bag onto his shoulder.

"If I had to choose between those two, I'd pick neither. What about Panera?" Tyler looked at the others for approval.

Ziva nodded. "I think that Panera Bread would be fine."

"I guess," DiNozzo agreed.

Everyone but Spiron started towards the door. Tony turned around to look at him. "Well? What are you waiting for, Probie?"

"Nothing. Just thinking." Tyler shook his head and followed the others outside. It was drizzling, but they could still hear the college baseball game.

"Did Bieliki play on that team?" DiNozzo asked.

"Yeah. He did. He dumped basketball once he hit college." Spiron paused. "Why are you asking?"

"They might have clues if we need them." Gibbs said as Tony hurried to get out of the rain.

Just as the team finished their food, Gibbs' phone rang. Abby was on the other end of the line.

"Gibbs! Gibbs! I miss you guys so much! When will you be coming back?" was the first thing she said.

"Calm down, Abs. We'll be back in a week at most." The ex marine had a crooked grin on his face. "What did you find?"

"I found an address that Andrew visited almost every day after Emily disappeared. He might be keeping her there. I also found some suspicious emails to someone named Austin Warner."

"Good work. Send Spiron the address, and we'll go check it out."

Tony had been gazing around the restaurant when he noticed someone watching them. He was on the phone, but he was definitely not focused on eating the soup in front of him.

Gibbs had just hung up when he felt DiNozzo nudge him with his knee. "Three o'clock, Boss." The ex marine casually glanced over as he took a drink of his Coke.

The others lowered their hands to place them on their holsters. Tony kicked them in the shins under the table and mouthed for them to stay cool. They looked back at their food and went back to talking as the man on the phone hung up and started eating his soup. His gaze left the team, but Gibbs could still feel the occasional glance.

Fifteen minutes later, the man put away his bowl and tray. The team got up and went outside. Once their suspect had come outside, Ziva faked wanting to take a picture and managed to get a good shot of the man's car, face, and license plates.

"I wonder who that was," Tony muttered after they were inside the car.

Tyler ran a hand through his hair. "That was Austin. I know he recognized me." The younger agent sounded worried. "I think he was involved with Andrew on another unsolved case."

"What case?" Ziva looked at him as Gibbs started the car. DiNozzo twisted around in his seat to look at the other two agents.

"It happened right after I came back from the air force. My family…moved…because of it." Spiron glanced at his phone. Abby had texted him the address.

"What happened?" Tony asked as their boss started to pull out of the parking lot. He took Tyler's phone when the younger man held it out to him and handed it to Gibbs. "Do you know how far away this place is?"

"About fifteen minutes. But watch for deer, Boss. It's in the woods." Spiron paused. "I walked in on something." He looked out the window sadly. "I'll tell you later."

Ziva exchanged a glance with Tony, but neither one said anything. DiNozzo turned in his seat to look straight forward. "So we're going to a house?"

"Yeah," Tyler replied. "C-can I sit this one out, Boss? I need to talk to Abby about some stuff."

"We're going to need you to help clear the house." Gibbs looked in the rearview mirror at the younger man.

"Got it. My family used to live there until they…moved."

"Where did they move to?" Ziva asked.

"Dunno. They never told me." Spiron lied.

"That isn't good. What about your siblings? Surely one of the three of them stayed here in Lynchburg." Tony said.

"None of them are here. I'm the only one who stayed. Right after they moved, Emily disappeared."

"I don't think that's a coincidence, Spiron." Gibbs said. "And I think you know exactly why and where they moved to."


	15. Chapter 15

HARR DARR HARR I RUN TRACK AND IT LEAVES NO TIME FOR STORIES. :( I seriously haven't posted in, like, three weeks, have I? I am SO sorry! I had science fair (which the judges cheated me on), and just all kinds of junk. I'm going to try and post more!

INSPIRING SONG: "Sail" by Awolnation

"Maybe I'm a different breed,

Maybe I'm not listening.

So blame it on my ADD, baby.

Sail, sail, sail, sail, sail."

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As they drove down the highway, getting closer and closer to their destination, Spiron began to fidget nervously. Ziva watched him with narrowed eyes, wondering just what it was that he was anticipating. The younger man was normally very calm and collected, like McGee always was.

When the team pulled up at the house, Gibbs allowed Tyler to lead them into the house and clear it. The first thing they noticed when they stepped inside was the nearly brand new looking interior, even though the place had been empty for over ten years. There was a chilly, haunted air to the place. They found almost nothing.

_Almost._

There was a crash in the back of the house where Tony was, and the others ran to the noise as fast as they could. DiNozzo had someone pinned to the floor with blood dripping from somewhere above his hairline. There was shattered glass on the floor from a cup the man had thrown at the agent.

"Who are you?" Tony growled, standing the man up and cuffing him.

"Graham Baker." Spiron stated before the suspect could say anything. "Emily's younger brother."

"What are you doing here?" Gibbs demanded.

"None of your business, pigs." Baker snapped. He had light brown hair, hazel eyes, and a facial build not that much different from his older sister.

The team visibly stiffened, especially Tyler. A million situations were running through his head.

_Her own younger brother kidnapped her! No, that isn't right. Everything points towards Bieliki. But what about Austin? Could he have done it? He's the one who came here all the time. Or did Graham have his phone for whatever reason? _

"You're under arrest." DiNozzo said. Ziva had already walked out and was calling the Lynchburg police for an officer to come and pick up the suspect.

Five minutes later, the team was back in the car, driving back to the police station. It was silent as they thought over what had happened. Tony had cleaned most of the blood off of the cut he had received, but found that it still needed treatment. He had been watching Spiron carefully since they had arrived at the house, seeing how nervous and upset he was. The agent had thought the younger man was going to attack the suspect they had arrested more than once, but Tyler never did anything. He was obviously not thinking or feeling right.

After a quick interrogation with the attacker, the team headed back to the hotel. Spiron hardly even bothered to change before crawling under the blankets and pulling them over his head. Tony said nothing as he got ready for bed, finally flopping down on his own bed and putting his hands behind his head.

DiNozzo listened for a few minutes. He could hear Ziva and Gibbs settling down in the rooms next to theirs. The senior field agent could also hear Tyler's restless movements next to him. Spiron was tossing and turning, constantly adjusting his pillow and muttering quietly to himself.

Settling down a bit more, Tony rolled onto his side and tucked an arm under his pillow. Sleep overtook him a few minutes later.

It was nearly five in the morning when DiNozzo blinked groggily. Did he just hear a door close? He looked around and noticed that Tyler wasn't in his bed.

_Huh,_ he thought. _I wonder where the kid went_. The agent sat up and noticed that his friend wasn't in the bathroom, either. Could he have gone to talk to Gibbs? Or did he go down to the lobby to work on something? _Whatever. It's none of my business_. Tony dismissed the thoughts going through his head and tried going back to sleep, wanting to savor the last hour before the alarm went off.

An hour later, the alarm was blaring. DiNozzo grumbled something to himself and smacked the clock. It went quiet as he sat up and ran a hand through his hair.

_Odd. Probie isn't back_. He observed. _I wonder if he went out for a run earlier_.

Tony stood up and gave a huge stretch before scrubbing his face with one hand. He hated mornings. Couldn't stand them. The agent had never seen how Ziva was happy to wake up at five and come in to work early. He assumed it was just her Mossad training.

Fifteen minutes later, he wandered out into the hallway. None of the others were anywhere to be seen. After waiting for a minute to see if anyone would come out, DiNozzo walked down to the elevator and pressed the tiny button to go down. It blinked for a moment before the lift rose up and the doors opened. He stepped inside and tapped the button for the ground floor.

Gibbs and Ziva were sitting at one of the tables downstairs, having breakfast. The Israeli said good morning and motioned at one of the two empty seats.

"Where is Tyler? Did he oversleep?" She asked once Tony sat down with his plate of eggs, sausage, and a biscuit with gravy. "We have not seen him since last night."

"Dunno. He wasn't in the room at five." DiNozzo took a huge forkful of eggs and shoveled it into his mouth.

"Probably out for a run." Gibbs muttered.

"Where would he go running? Around the Liberty campus at five in the morning?" Tony looked at the older man.

"He mentioned something about trails all over the mountain." Ziva said. "I'm sure he just went out to run or something. Our car is still outside."

"Whatever. I want to go investigate these 'trails' he supposedly spoke of."

"We should call him first. He probably took his phone with him."

"Fine." DiNozzo pulled out his cell and dialed Tyler's number. The younger man's phone was turned off.

"Great." Tony grumbled. "He doesn't want anyone talking to him, apparently."

"You think, DiNozzo?" Gibbs said sarcastically.

"Does this mean we have to go find him?" Ziva asked.

Their boss sat back in his chair. "DiNozzo came up with that idea, so he can go and hunt for the kid. You're coming with me to go interrogate the suspect further."

"How will we get to the station when I find him?" Tony took another large bite of food.

"There's buses all over the place. Take a few. You'll get there eventually." Gibbs stood up and refilled his coffee before walking outside. Ziva followed him soon after.

DiNozzo finished his breakfast before going upstairs and changing into more comfortable clothes. He knew he could use a run, and this was the perfect opportunity. But there was still a small bit of doubt hanging in the back of his mind.

_What if Spiron wasn't out running at all?_


	16. Chapter 16

**CHAPTER 16! :D **

**REVIEWS:**

**DS2010: I threw that idea around for, like, forever. But I don't know if I'll do that or not. WHO KNOWS.**

Tony walked across the street and up the hill a little ways to a wide gravel road. It had rained the night before, and he could see fresh footsteps in the small patches of mud and silt. They led to a small trail, then to the left. DiNozzo followed them along a winding trail, which led to another gravel road. This one was better developed, and obviously had more traffic than the other.

There were no other trails around, so he turned to the left again and followed the gravel road. There was still the occasional footstep in the mud, which told him that Spiron had been through here.

After walking for a mile or so, he came to the top of one of the mountains. The footsteps disappeared into the undergrowth and down the backside of the large hill. Tony stopped for a second, gazing down into the trees. Seeing nothing, he stealthily began to follow the prints in the mud. They led to a secluded area dug into the side of the hill.

Tony frowned at what he saw. Torn up grass and mud showed that some kind of struggle had gone down. There were a few blood spatters on the remaining grass, then drag marks down the mountain. Worst of all, Spiron's phone was lying on the ground. Its screen was cracked and broken, and when DiNozzo unlocked it, he could see that Tyler had his contact list pulled up. The younger agent was about to call Gibbs when he was attacked.

After looking around the scene a bit longer, Tony pulled out his own phone and called his boss.

"Did you find him, or are you calling to tell me that he was hiding in the bathroom the whole time?" Gibbs snapped.

"I found him—well, I guess I found where he was. Someone kidnapped him." DiNozzo was keeping his head on a constant swivel. He didn't want the same people who took Spiron to come and get him too.

"Where?"

"Some little hiding spot on the mountain. The offender drug him down the mountain, it looks like." Tony began to follow the drag marks in the mud. "I'm following the trail now."

"Don't get yourself killed, DiNozzo." With that, Gibbs hung up.

Tony went into stealth mode as he walked down the steep hill. He pulled his white shirt off, knowing it would only give him away if he needed to do some serious sneaking and following. The agent mentally thanked his boss for showing him how to walk silently through undergrowth and dry leaves.

As the wind whispered through the trees, DiNozzo could see that Tyler had been bleeding when he was pulled down the hill. There was a reddish look to the center of the drag marks, and blood was on some of the grass.

It was nearly fifteen minutes later when Tony reached the bottom of the mountain. He noticed a small shack through the thick trees and brush. The windows were barred, and the paint was peeling on the sides. The place was obviously old.

The agent dialed his boss' number again. "I think I found where they took him."

"Where? DiNozzo, I can't read minds."

"Some little house behind the mountain. At the very bottom. No roads or power lines leading to it, but there's a new solar panel on the roof."

"Don't get yourself killed." Gibbs hung up again.

Tony rolled his eyes. His boss really needed to learn how to say goodbye on the phone, or at least give a warning when he was about to hang up.

DiNozzo kept low and slipped through the heavy undergrowth, pulling out his pistol as he went. The wind swept through the branches, making him shiver. He was starting to wish he hadn't taken off his shirt. Some of the lights in the house were on, and the agent could see two shapes moving in the windows.

One of them made a sudden movement as if it was standing up quickly. Tony spooked and laid down as fast as he could. He was almost completely certain that he had been found. His suspicions were confirmed when someone burst out of the house. He looked to be fairly tall, a little chunky, and had olive skin and dark hair.

_Crap_. He thought. _Crap, crap, crap. What to do now? Bear Grylls mode?_

The man was walking towards him. He stopped at the edge of the clearing the house sat in and gazed into the brush. DiNozzo hardly dared to breathe. Now he was completely thankful that he had ditched his shirt. The thing would have given him away long ago.

As the agent watched the man, he noticed that he had no weapon. Not even a knife. He was just acting. Tony grinned to himself, but kept from moving. He still didn't want to give himself away. The man might call to his friend in the house, and he might actually have a weapon. That would be bad.

_Bear Grylls mode it is._

DiNozzo flicked a rock into a nearby tree as a distraction. It worked, and the man looked away long enough for Tony to pull himself through the mud to where he was just under a bush. The bush was almost right at the man's feet.

The agent made a lightning fast move and swept his feet out from under him before bringing the butt of his pistol down on the other's head. He was out cold in a moment. DiNozzo hauled him into a small ditch and looked down at himself. Mud and clumps of grass were smeared all down his front.

_Great. This is going to be so much fun explaining to Gibbs. _

Tony quickly went back to the tiny house and slipped over to sit under one of the windows. He could hear the murmur of voices inside. Making sure that his pistol was loaded and ready, the agent silently moved to the front door.

The door didn't make a sound as he opened it, and DiNozzo took instant note of his surroundings. There was a small entryway that led to the living room. There were two rooms branching off of it. One of them was the kitchen, which led to the back door.

_They've gotta be in the other room_. He thought. _Only one way in, one way out._

Someone yelled in the back room and there was a distinct thud, almost like a person had been shoved into the wall. Tony burst into the room and aimed his pistol at the first person he saw.

A tall, wiry man had Spiron shoved against the wall. The agent's hands were tied behind his back, and blood oozed from cuts and scrapes over his arms and legs. More crimson ran down the side of his face. He seemed more focused on the pistol pressed against his temple than on DiNozzo.

"NCIS! Drop the weapon!" Tony barked.

Tyler's captor glanced at him, scoffing slightly. "You don't look like NCIS. Tell me, Spry, is this really what your precious organization has come to?" He gave an extra push with the pistol.

"I told you to drop the weapon. Do it, before I shoot you." DiNozzo growled.

"How about you drop your own weapon before I shoot Spry?"

Tony was about to fire when something heavy hit him from behind, knocking him to the ground. The weight that came down on top of him knocked the breath out of his lungs, and then his pistol was yanked from his hands. While he was still wheezing and gasping for air, his hands were bound behind his back, and he was hauled to his feet.

The wiry man laughed. "NCIS really is just a bunch of weaklings! Look at him! He can't even catch his breath."

His friend, who had woken up and come back to the house, pushed DiNozzo into a chair and leaned against the wall. "Apparently so. They must get lucky to even solve a case."

Spiron narrowed his eyes as the man who had pinned him to the wall shoved him to another chair. "He survived the bubonic plague, you know."

Tony coughed and cleared his throat. "My lungs were seriously scarred."

"What a sob story. That means that we should just kill you faster."

"But doesn't that mean you were wrong when you said that NCIS was just a bunch of weaklings? I mean, it takes a lot to survive the plague. Especially when the bug was designed to withstand antibiotics."

"Oh, sure. That's a bunch of bull crap, and we all know it."

"And about that time I pulled two people out of a car. The car was on the bottom of a river." Tony added.

"Shut it! Both of you."

"I just recently survived jumping off of a building and taking a sniper bullet to the arm. I can give you proof." DiNozzo ignored the man.

"Like what?" The larger man asked. He looked skeptical.

"I can show you if you untie me."

"No way that's happening." The other snapped.

A crash in another part of the house attracted all of their attention. The wiry man growled something and rushed out.

"What was that?" Tyler asked.

"A friend that likes to stop by. They really choose the worst times."

"Anyways, will you untie me? I'll show you the proof." Tony asked casually.

"This had better not be a trick, or Miles is going to kill me." The man untied DiNozzo's wrists and watched as he held out his left arm.

"See? I took a sniper bullet here." Tony motioned to the scar on his forearm.

Their captor paused for a moment, as if he was wondering if the scar was real or not. DiNozzo took his chance and punched him as hard as he could, then tackled him to the floor and used the rope he had been bound with to tie the other's wrists.

"Stupid." Tony took his gun back and freed Spiron as well. "I'm guessing this Miles guy has your gun?"

"No. I left it at the hotel." Tyler responded.

"Great." DiNozzo rolled his eyes and used Spiron's rope to bind the man's ankles as well. "Come on. You'll have to help me find this guy, then."

"There's a basement. Stairs are in the kitchen." Tyler led the other agent to the dimly lit staircase. "This is where Miles went."

"How do you know?"

"I was listening to where he went."

"Alright. Let's see if we can end this." DiNozzo cocked his gun and began to quietly go down the stairs. He stopped when he reached the halfway point and aimed his gun at something in the darkness.

There was an ear shattering bang as he fired the gun. Two more gunshots, then silence. Tony holstered his gun and walked the rest of the way down the stairs. The man had collapsed on top of a woman who was tied to a metal chair. She breathed a sigh of relief.

"Thank you so much," she started. "I've been stuck here for who knows how long."

"Around ten years sound good?" DiNozzo untied her wrists and ankles, then stepped back as she stood up. The woman had nearly knee-length blonde hair, acidic green eyes, and stood around 5'9".

"I guess. Name's Emily Baker. Lieutenant of the Lynchburg PD."


	17. Closure

**Last chapter! Thanks to EVERYONE for all the amazing reviews!**

Tony nodded. "Agent Tony DiNozzo, NCIS. My partner should be getting his butt down here any time." He turned and looked at the stairs.

"NCIS? Why are you involved with this? I was never in the military, and neither one of them was either." She narrowed her eyes slightly.

"Come on. I'll explain later." DiNozzo motioned for her to follow. She paused for a moment, then grabbed a knife from the dead man's pocket.

"Thanks, Austin." She murmured before taking the weapon and cutting her hair off to shoulder length. The officer shook her head and set the knife down. "Much better. Haven't had a haircut since they took me."

"I can tell," Tony started up the stairs, and she quickly followed. Spiron was nowhere to be seen. "Where _is_ he?"

"Your partner seems to enjoy running off," Emily smiled.

"Don't know if that's the case this time. But he does run a lot, I'll give him that."

"Just wondering, but why are you so muddy?"

"Long story involving hiking up a mountain, ditching my shirt at the top, then dragging myself through the mud."

"Doesn't sound very long."

"Whatever. I didn't give any details." Tony stopped when he saw blood on the floor. "Stay here." He pulled his pistol out again and crept into the living room. There were two pieces of rope lying on the floor. "Great. Whoever the other guy was got loose again."

"Shouldn't you be calling someone?"

"Why?"

"Don't you have a senior agent or something? I know that there's more than two of you."

"I guess so. Call Gibbs for me." He tossed his phone at her. "I'm going to go find our missing suspect and the agent he abducted." Tony grinned and walked out.

Emily looked through the phone and its many contacts and rolled her eyes. Of course he had more female contacts than anything else. Even worse was the fact that they weren't work related. She found Gibbs' number and dialed it.

"What is it now, DiNozzo?" The older man snapped.

"This isn't Agent DiNozzo. This is Emily Baker, lieutenant of the Lynchburg PD. Agent DiNozzo is chasing down one of my captors. He said to call you down here."

"Alright. Stay put." With that, Gibbs hung up.

There was a gunshot outside, and the officer ran to a window. Tony was staggering backwards, a hand pressed to his shoulder. His attacker was holding the gun, aiming it straight at him. Emily grabbed something off of a nearby shelf and chucked it through the window, hitting her target right in the face. He fell backwards, firing a shot into the air. DiNozzo lunged at him, wrestling the gun away with a heavy stomp to the wrist.

The two men rolled around for a few moments, her captor finally gaining the upped hand. He began to slam heavy fists down on Tony, who could only make a feeble attempt at covering his face with his arms. Someone else ran out of nowhere and tackled the man, giving DiNozzo a chance to grab his pistol and shoot.

It became silent for a moment as the two agents tried to catch their breath. The suspect was dead, having taken the bullet in the neck. Emily ran outside, helping Tony to his feet and looking up the hill as Gibbs, Ziva, and a few police officers ran down.

"Well, it looks like you guys took care of things pretty well. I don't even see why you called me." Gibbs said as he walked over to the group of them. "Although, I am wondering what on earth DiNozzo got himself into." The sniper grinned slightly.

"Is the case finally done?" Tony asked.

"Well, we finally found who Spiron insisted we look for. I am fairly certain that this case is closed." Ziva smiled.

Emily looked at the group. "Of course he did. Where is he? I thought I saw him." She turned and looked around.

DiNozzo looked at where the man's body lay. "He was right over there, wasn't he?" The agent looked over in the bushes where Baker's captor had come from. Someone was standing in the bushes, but it didn't look like Tyler. He narrowed his eyes and walked over to stand at the edge of the bushes.

"What do you see?" Ziva asked as she walked over.

Tony blinked. "Huh? Oh—I see, uh, Probie in those bushes over there." He murmured, walking over to a cluster of thorn bushes. It wasn't Spiron, but Probie was standing there. "Thanks," DiNozzo nodded slightly as he bent over as an act to seem like he was looking for something.

"Least I could do." McGee crouched down next to him. "Tyler isn't over here. He's behind that tree over there. Knocked out, but he'll be alright." Tim pointed towards a tall oak tree.

"Got it, Tim." Tony smiled and walked over to the tree, seeing Spiron's limp form on the ground. When he turned around and looked back at the bush, no one was there. The agent shrugged it off with a small smile and drug Tyler back to the clearing.

"Is he alright?" Emily knelt down next to him and checked for a pulse before looking him over.

"He'll be fine once he wakes up." DiNozzo looked at the graze on his shoulder. It wasn't deep, but it was still oozing blood and burned hotly.

"How do you know?" Baker looked up at him. "You hardly touched him." She looked skeptical.

Tony shrugged. "I can see the knot on his head. It's nothing major."

"I guess," the officer still seemed doubtful.

An hour later, the group was back in the hotel lobby, clean and bandaged. Emily was with them, quietly talking to Tyler. Tony seemed absentminded, and flinched slightly when Gibbs nudged him.

"Sorry, Boss. Just thinking." He said quickly.

"Thinking about what?" DiNozzo looked away when Gibbs tried to make eye contact.

"Lost agents."

The older man nodded. "You just gotta move on, Tony."

"I know. I already have. Seeing those two just reminds me of Tim and Kate." DiNozzo looked tired.

"Moving on doesn't mean you have to forget them."

"I haven't forgotten. I'm just thinking about them." Tony ran a hand through his hair. "So, when are we going back to D.C?"

"Don't know. But I think the police department there is going to have a new addition." Gibbs turned to walk to the elevator. "Come on. We need to get our stuff packed."

A single word popped into DiNozzo's mind.

_Closure._


End file.
